DAVIS, Calif. -
The UC Davis women's rowing team won the varsity eight race by 23 seconds over Santa Clara with a time of 6 minutes, 50.19 seconds, the first of seven wins for the Aggies on Sunday morning during the annual Davis Invitational Rowing Tournament at the Port of Sacramento.

UC Davis captured victories in all but one race during the season-opening regatta, crossing first during varsity eight, second varsity eight, novice eight, second novice eight, novice four A, and varsity four A and B races. The meet, held in conjunction with the UC Davis men's rowing club, also featured UC Santa Barbara; Sonoma State and Cal Maritime.

Of the seven victories, six were by at least 22 seconds.

"I feel very proud of the accomplishments made this morning by the entire team," said head coach Carissa Adams. "We still have a lot of improvements to make for the rest of the season but it was really nice to start off on such a good note."

The Aggies opened the regatta, contested in ideal conditions at the port, with an easy win over Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara in the varsity eight race. UC Davis was timed in 6:50.19, well ahead of the Broncos who crossed in 7:13.62 and UCSB which finished in 7:18.09. The Aggies' time beat last year's opening mark of 6:52.24, also at the D.I.R.T.

The second varsity eight also posted a convincing win over Santa Clara, timed over the 2,000-meter course in 7:14.84, comfortably in front of Santa Clara which finished in 7:39.64. A 44-second win by the novice eight (7:22.53) in its four-boat race followed by a nearly 33-second victory from the second novice eight (7:39.25) over UCSB gave UC Davis a sweep of all four eights races.

The UC Davis varsity four A boat posted an impressive time of 7:32.25 to beat both Santa Clara (8:02.42) and UCSB (8:07.29) while the novice four A crew was timed in 8:06.93, edging Santa Clara (8:09.12) in the closest race of the morning. The Gauchos (8:29.09) and Sonoma State (8:31.25) followed.

The Aggies posted their final win in the varsity four B race with a clocking of 8:03.7, an almost 23-second win over UCSB (8:26.52). Sonoma State ended UC Davis' winning streak win in the novice four B competition as UC Davis took fourth.

UC Davis will return to action on Mar. 30 when the Aggies host San Diego State in a dual at the Port of Sacramento.